Smoke Can Snuff Out Billions In Future

Source: Next Thing 

Tobacco could kill 1 billion people in the 21st century unless governments act now to dramatically reduce smoking, the World Health Organisation said today.  The UN agency said no country in the world was doing all it could to curb tobacco use, which it estimates will kill 500 million people who are alive today.  It called on all nations to adopt a six-pronged strategy to dissuade people – especially women and young people – from smoking and to help them quit.  Raising taxes to as high as 75% or more of the pack price would be the single most effective strategy, the WHO said. Higher taxes would also provide funds to counter tobacco industry marketing tactics.”While efforts to combat tobacco are gaining momentum, virtually every country needs to do more,” said Margaret Chan, the WHO director general.  A 7 yr old Chinese boy smokes a cigarette in downtown Bejing.  As many as 100 million Chinese men currently under age 30 will die from tobacco use.  In India, about a quarter of deaths among middle-aged men are caused by smoking,” its report said.  

It termed the rise in smoking among young women one of the most ominous developments.  ”Because most women currently do not use tobacco, the tobacco industry aggressively markets to them,” it said. “Advertising, sponsorship, including charitable donations to women’s causes, weaken cultural opposition to women using tobacco.  Product design and marketing, including the use of attractive models in advertising and brands marketed specifically to women, are explicitly crafted to encourage women to smoke.”

 

~ by streetknowledge on February 20, 2008.